


The Movie

by Phantoms_Echo



Series: The Writing Process [10]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Agent!Aoko, Agent!Jodie, Akai is like pre-Rough Draft Shinichi, Alternate Universe - Writers AU, Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, And having the attention span of a goldfish., Author!Kaito, Author!Shinichi, Because he can, Comedy, Complete, Crack Treated Seriously, Director!Sonoko, Drama, Fluff, He just needs someone to love, Kaito becomes an actor, M/M, No Smut, Romance, Shinichi and Conan are separate people, Shinichi is a surprisingly good actor, So much Comedy, Sonoko being Sonoko, Surprising to Kaito at least, Trust me Little Conan is hilarious, author!Akai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24805831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantoms_Echo/pseuds/Phantoms_Echo
Summary: “Did I hear the word movie?” Kaito asked. “Are we watching a movie? If so, I vote for Lupin!”By the look on Sonoko’s face, she knew exactly what she was doing. Shinichi glared anyway. Maybe it would stop her from talking?”“Actually—“ no such luck. “—Shinichi and I were just discussing the potential of making a Detective and Thief movie.”The sly grin on Sonoko’s face was devastating. The look of sheer joy and excitement on Kaito’s was doubly so.“A movie? Shinichi a movie?!” Kaito’s eyes glittered as he stared up at him. “We could have a movie! Conan and KID could have a movie! I could play Kaitou KID in a movie!”Because, when discussing turning a book into a film, Kaito’s first thought is always what he got to do in it.***Or, you can't have a world-famous book series without a Movie, as Shinichi now learns. Kaito's okay with not doing it if Shinichi doesn't want to, but Shinichi will die before he makes his sunshine boy unhappy.(Takes place in the middle of Writer's AU part 9 - Epilogue)So, Movie it is.
Relationships: Akai Shuuichi | Okiya Subaru/Amuro Tooru | Furuya Rei, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Series: The Writing Process [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/813831
Comments: 13
Kudos: 430





	The Movie

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the idea for this fic.
> 
> PS - QUICK NOTE! This installment in the Writer's AU takes place in the middle of Epilogue (part 9). It's right after Kaito and Shinichi get together, but before you hear all about all the awards and stuff they received. They are not married (yet) and there isn't really talk about getting married since they are still fairly early in their relationship.
> 
> But come on, did you really think I would do a 'book' and not do a 'movie' too? :) Every good book deserves a movie! Sadly, this one is based on a different cross-over the boys have, and as such, will not follow with the Detective and Thief: Twisted Reflections novel you guys read. I am not planning to write the movie or a screenplay of it at this time. That's just way too much work. (But maybe later, after some time to think...)
> 
> Also, shout out to [Swbookworm13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swbookworm13/pseuds/Swbookworm13) for figuring out that I read the bookmark notes that people leave when they bookmark stuff. 
> 
> Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure what you meant by the real Conan and KID. Did you mean writer!Shinichi and writer!Kaito in the real world? Or Conan and KID showing up in writer!Shinichi and writer!Kaito's world? If it's the second, I've got a little oneshot [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12027522/chapters/30301371) that you might like. If that's not quite what you're looking for, I'm afraid I don't have plans for what you're asking. This AU is strictly non-magical, so having Conan and KID (or writer!Shinichi and writer!Kaito) show up anywhere than their home universe is not in the cards.
> 
> That being said, I hope you can enjoy this little installment (I say little, but it's longer than some of my multi-chapter fics) in place of what you were hoping for. :) I had a lot of fun writing this and, even though it's about 65% crack, I treat it very seriously, so be ready for some laughs and some feels. :)
> 
> Side note though: I am so curious about some of the tags people put on bookmarks. Some I get, like 'Favorite' or 'Read later', but some are just '1C AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH' and I have no idea what that means. I am so curious.
> 
> Anyway, enough about me being a nosy busy-body. Please enjoy this fic! :)

It had taken a week, but Sonoko had fully transitioned from being a literary agent to the vice president of the Suzuki Corporation. Her father was still in charge, still had some years before he even _thought_ of retirement, but that didn’t meant she couldn’t learn the ropes.

So that’s what she did.

She followed him to meetings. She read the different plans for each division. She spoke with department heads to keep up-to-date on the current state of affairs— what obstacles they were facing, what new products they were planning to release, what help they anticipated needing. She learned and memorized and worked hard to integrate herself into the busy life of corporate Japan.

And Sonoko succeeded… for all of six months.

“I can’t take it anymore!” she groaned and draped herself over her desk. She pressed her forehead into the stacks of papers she needed to read and dug her fingers into her hair. “It’s so _boring!_ ”

“What did you expect?” Her father gave her a nonplussed look. “You thought it would be as exciting as some videogame or book? We don’t live in movies, Sonoko. Real life is hard work.”

She knew that. She _did_. Wasn’t creating a whole department through her own power ‘hard work’? Wasn’t leading a single person to a world-famous career ‘hard work’? Wasn’t getting one of her best friends to finally stop being emotionally stupid and find the love of his life ‘hard work’?

“I get that. I _do_ ,” she insisted. “But I don’t get how you can be so single-focused!”

“Single-focused?” Her father looked perplexed. “How so?”

“I mean, how can you spend hours a day, just reading over these things and talking to people and planning for the future?” She drew herself up to look down at the stack of papers awaiting her attention. “There’s so many other things to _do_ in life! Staying at a desk is just— _eurgh!_ ”

Her father frowned. “Isn’t… that what you did when you created the Suzuki Literary Agency?”

“Bleh, _no_!” She stuck out her tongue in disgust. “I never even had a _desk_ until you helped me get the space for our public office. Even then, I never used it more than twice a week —usually meetings with investors or new agent hires.”

“What did you usually do for phone calls or meeting with clients?”

“I would just call from wherever I was —the mall, in the car, at the beach…” She waved her hand as if to say _et cetera_. “As for clients, I only had the one. I just showed up at Shinichi’s house whenever I needed him to do something.”

“Hmm…” Her father ran a hand down his jaw in thought. “I may have approached this incorrectly.”

“Huh?” Sonoko looked up, confused. “Approached what incorrectly?”

“Teaching you,” he said as he organized a stack of papers and shuffled them off to the side. “It appears that you have more of your Uncle’s traits than I first realized.”

“Uncle Jirokichi?” Sonoko made a face. “I mean, going off gallivanting into the world _sounds_ fun, but at the same time, like, a lot of work?”

“No, no, nothing quite to that extent,” her father assured her. “But in terms of being an active participant, I know that I fall to one end of the spectrum. It seems that you may fall to the other.”

“… Meaning?”

“Meaning that I have a proposition for you.” He fastened a stern look on her. “How do you feel about starting a new business venture?”

Sonoko’s eyes went wide as she grinned in glee.

* * * * *

“And so, I want to make a movie,” Sonoko finished explaining to Shinichi from across the coffee table in his living room. “My dad is all for stepping further into the world of entertainment and media and it seems like movies is the next logical step after books.”

“Didn’t you try the whole movie thing, like, Junior year of High school?” Shinichi frowned into his cup of coffee. “I seem to recall it was before the whole author thing and after the brief stint as an ‘actress’.”

“What you’re thinking of is when I tried being a _playwright_ ,” Sonoko corrected him. “And no, this is nothing like that.”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at her as he took a sip from his mug.

“It’s _not_ ,” she insisted. “Because _this_ time, I’m going to be the director!”

Shinichi’s eyebrows rose, but well, he couldn’t exactly disagree with her. She had the kind of attitude and vision that would go with leading a huge group of people towards one goal. She did that all the time with her Literary Agency before she had placed a different CEO in charge. Being a director _did_ seem logical.

That just left him one question…

“Why are you coming to me with this?” he asked with a slight frown. “Isn’t Ran usually the one you go to first for any hair-brained schemes you come up with?”

“She’s currently off on a romantic getaway with Okita in Kyoto.” Sonoko waved him off. “I won’t be able to get a hold of her until the end of the month. Unfortunate, because I _really_ wanted to join them with Makoto, but he’s currently out of the country on another tournament tour and…”

“I get it, you have a very vivid personal life.” Shinichi rolled his eyes. “So I’m second-best when it comes to this stuff? Is that what I’m hearing?”

“ _No_.” She pouted. “I would have come to you anyway, because I need your help.”

“My help? Why would you need my…?” He paused with his mug halfway to his mouth. “Oh no.”

She smiled a shark-like grin. “Oh yes.”

“No!” He put his mug down, a little firmer than he had intended, but he blamed that on his blood pressure. Of which Sonoko was increasing with one look alone. “No way. You _cannot_ talk me into being the accessory of _another_ career plan!”

“But _Shinichi_!” she whined. “Didn’t it turn out well for you? You got the fame—?”

“I was already famous enough with my mom and dad,” he huffed. “And I made a name for myself with Division One over in Tokyo PD.”

She frowned. “You got the riches?”

“Again, mom and Dad.” He crossed his arms. “It wasn’t like I was looking for more money as it was.”

She pursed her lips and thought for a minute before her gaze turned sly. “You got the guy…?”

“I—!” he paused, thoughts turning to Kaito.

To the cheerful smile that always brightened his day. To the indigo eyes that he found himself comparing to everyday objects, trying to find a match and failing. To the quick hands and sharp thoughts that constantly kept him on his toes, whether it was in one of their planning sessions or one of the days they took out on the town.

Sonoko wasn’t wrong. Kaito had changed his life for the better. Shinichi couldn’t imagine a single moment without him now, and that never would have happened if he hadn’t caved to her so many years ago. He didn’t want to think of a life without Kaito, not even for a second. But because of that…

“I already have Kaito,” Shinichi said solemnly. “And even if you suggested that writing a script and making a movie for you would somehow bring about another ‘love of my life’, I would still say no. Kaito is all I want. I don’t need anyone else.”

Sonoko stuck out her tongue at that. “I wasn’t saying to _dump_ him! I know how head over heels you are about him! I’m just saying, this could be another chance!”

“At what?” Shinichi gave her a dead-panned stare. “Running myself into the ground trying to get novels out? Going to Q&As on three hours of sleep over the course of four days? Inciting public riots at conferences? Oh yeah, sounds like a blast.”

“Okay, I will take the blame for the public riots, since that was my fault.” Her eyes narrowed on him. “But _you_ were the one to run yourself into the ground. _You_ were the one that decided a 60 hour work-week was the way to go and _you_ were the one prodding Megure for more cases right before a conference. Don’t think the entire taskforce didn’t tattle on you to me.”

Shinichi grimaced at that. He knew _someone_ had been leaking that information, but to think the _entirety_ _of Division One_ had gone behind his back? For shame.

“Besides, you’re better at that now.” Sonoko leaned back and crossed her arms. Her foot bobbed itself were it rested over her opposite knee. “Aoko-chan tells me that you’ve got a better schedule now that Elementary Conan is starting to wind down. She says that Kaito keeps you on a regular schedule for work and that you take more breaks now than you did before. _And_ you leave work at a reasonable hour, instead of eight o’clock at night.”

“So you’re saying that, just because I have better habits now, I should be willing to write you something in return?” Shinichi raised an eyebrow at her.

“ _I’m saying_ , that if you and Kaito _happen_ to write a screenplay at any point in the next few months, I would be more than happy to make it into a feature length film,” Sonoko corrected with a pointed finger. “The _Detective and Thief_ series is pretty big, especially after your last two releases. I know for a _fact_ that there are tons of producers chomping at the bit for some movie rights.”

Shinichi’s eyes narrowed at her, suspicious. “And if we don’t? Write a screenplay?”

“Then I’ve got five other writers on hand to give me a script worth producing.” Sonoko shrugged and reached for her tea. “It won’t be _nearly_ as fun as directing the cross-over series to end all cross-over series, but a movie _is_ still a movie.”

It seemed too wish-washy, too _unlike_ her. Sonoko never half-assed an idea. She never gave up when she had a goal in mind. If she wanted to make a _Detective and Thief_ film then she would _make_ one. For her to be so easy about it was strange…

“Movie?”

… until Shinichi realized _why_ Sonoko had invited herself over to his house. His house, which he shared with Kaito after the other had moved out of his apartment and taken over Shinichi’s garden. Kaito, who always looked forward to the next new, interesting thing he could do or experience or _create_ in order to write about.

Kaito, who would very much _love_ to write a screenplay.

“Did I hear the word movie?” Kaito asked as he dropped his stuff off by the door. He leaned down to give Shinichi a little kiss on the cheek in greeting before rolling over the back of the couch to sit next to him. “Are we watching a movie? If so, I vote for Lupin!”

By the look on Sonoko’s face, she knew exactly what she was doing. Shinichi glared anyway. Maybe it would stop her from talking?”

“Actually—“ no such luck. “—Shinichi and I were just discussing the potential of making a _Detective and Thief_ movie.”

The sly grin on Sonoko’s face was devastating. The look of sheer joy and excitement on Kaito’s was doubly so.

“A movie? Shinichi a _movie_?!” Kaito’s eyes glittered as he stared up at him. “We could have a movie! Conan and KID could have a movie! _I could play Kaitou KID in a movie!_ ”

Because, when discussing turning a book into a film, Kaito’s first thought is always what _he_ got to do in it.

Something must have shown on Shinichi’s face because Kaito paused, scrutinized, then drew back. “You don’t want to?”

“It’s not… that I _don’t_ want to…” Shinichi winced at how that sounded because through tone alone, it was obvious he _didn’t_. “But right now… well, we’re working with Akai-sensei to write the next cross-over with his _Scent of Bourbon_ series. And I still have my day job to worry about too. I just don’t want to overwork myself, you know?”

Kaito blinked at him and beamed. “Then we won’t do it.”

Shinichi… hadn’t been expecting that.

He _should_ have been. Kaito had been the one to get Shinichi into a better work-life balance to begin with. It would make sense that he would be in favor of keeping Shinichi from overworking himself, but to hear him give up on the venture so _easily_ …

It was obvious that Kaito wanted to make a movie. He had talked about it in passing before, more of a joke than anything. He had laughed when Shinichi said he could play every character with his impressive wardrobe, that all they’d need was some fancy editing for the film. Kaito had even given thought to doing a _home-made_ film, if for nothing but the laughs. Shinichi knew he was serious about the whole thing.

And for him to give that up for Shinichi…?

Shinichi let out a sigh. “We’ll think about it.”

Kaito frowned, eyebrows drawn together in concern. “No, we won’t. I’m not going to make you give up sleep or case work for something that we haven’t even _discussed_ with Aoko. And you’re right! We have the cross-over with Akai Shuichi to think about! Besides, I don’t know the first thing about writing a screenplay. That could be stressful in and of itself!”

“Akai Shuichi… you mean the one who wrote the series _The Burn of Scotch_?” Sonoko’s face turned thoughtful. “Didn’t he write the screenplays for the movies that reenacted the book? I bet he would know how to go about changing from a novel to a screenplay.”

“That’s… true,” Shinichi said slowly, thoughtfully. Akai _had_ turned his ten-part series into a very impressive set of movies. There were a lot of things he had had to leave out due to run-time, but as far as movie-adaptations went, it was far better than many Shinichi had come across. He might be able to give them some pointers where that was concerned.

“ _Regardless_ ,” Kaito said with a petulant look. “We would still need to come up with an idea _and_ go through the whole writing process. So I don’t want to commit to anything right now.”

“It doesn’t have to be right now,” Sonoko wheedled, then sighed. With Kaito’s refusal, she knew she’d lost her advantage. “Well, if any sparks of inspiration hit, you know where to find me.”

“We’ll have Aoko contact you,” Shinichi promised. “After all, she _is_ our agent.”

“Right, right.” Sonoko waved as she made her way to the door. “Oh! And don’t forget that you’re invited to the anniversary party at the Literary Agency! I don’t know if you’re free that night or not, but I figured I would remind you just in case!”

Shinichi… had forgotten. But he was sure that Kaito would have reminded him, eventually.

“Really,” Kaito huffed. “The nerve! She comes in here, goes directly to you instead of Aoko, then tries to use _me_ as a means of getting you to write a screenplay? I know she’s a friend of yours, but sometimes, I just can’t stand her.”

“She’s used to getting what she wants, no matter the obstacle.” Shinichi gave a shrug. “Her family taught her that and, for the most part, it works out in her favor, _and_ those who she inevitably ropes in.”

“You count the ragged lifestyle from before as ‘in your favor’?” Kaito scowled.

“No.” Shinichi couldn’t help but place a kiss on Kaito’s scrunched nose. “But I definitely count ‘meeting you’ as in my favor.”

And obviously, Kaito couldn’t stay mad at that.

“W-well, even so,” Kaito grumbled, cheeks flushed a nice pink. “She should _at least_ go through professional channels. Aoko would eviscerate anyone else who tried to do what she did.”

“I’m pretty sure she’ll only get away with it _because_ she’s Sonoko.” Shinichi pointed out as he threaded an arm over Kaito’s shoulders. “But, you know, she’s got a point?”

“What? Where?” Kaito asked, eyes wide with surprise.

“ _Detective and Thief_ is a pretty popular series. And having Akai as a contact would make it easier to write a screen play.” Shinichi gave a hum of consideration. “I never wrote a screenplay for _Shizuka_ or _Totoro_ , but I was asked a lot about it by fans. _Conan_ would be the harder one to write for, since it’s got an extra portion of Sci-fi to it, but it _is_ one of the more popular of my series. Getting a movie in before the end of the series wouldn’t be too bad.”

“But you’ve already got a new project on the burner and the edits you need to finish for the rest of _Elementary Conan_.” Kaito pointed with a concerned frown. “ _And_ you’ve got a case that needs your attention. Adding _another_ project onto that work load would be too much.”

“It would just be the screenplay. It’s not like I would be _in_ the movie. Not like you would.” Shinichi gave him a knowing grin that Kaito deflated at.

“Still too many projects,” Kaito grumbled.

“What if…” Shinichi turned to him, a new light in his eyes. “What if it’s not?”

“Um…” Kaito frowned. “I think the definition of a screenplay would be a project in and of itself.”

“Not if it’s a screenplay of the cross-over we’re writing with Akai.” Shinichi felt a curl of a grin in the round of his cheeks.

“You’re thinking…” Kaito paused, eyes going wide. “You want to write the cross-over with Akai, then whittle the manuscript down to a screenplay?”

“ _Or_ write a screenplay in and of itself.” Shinichi raised an eyebrow. “Jodie, Akai’s agent, said that they were looking for some PR for his new series, since it wasn’t doing as well as the last one. Whether that’s a cross-over novel or a cross-over movie, do you think they’ll really care?”

Kaito’s face lit up like a kid at Christmas. “Shinichi, have I told you you’re a genius?”

“Only about once a day since we’ve met.” Shinichi grinned. “I wouldn’t get ahead of myself. We don’t know if they’ll say yes, but…”

“But being a part of the first _Detective and Thief_ movie would be way more PR than any other cross-over,” Kaito finished. “Something tells me they won’t say no.”

* * * * *

Jodie and Akai were all too happy to turn the manuscript request into a screenplay.

“Honestly, I think it’s a brilliant idea!” Jodie said with blatant cheer. “Having Zero-kun be part of the first ever movie for the _Detective and Thief_ series? I can’t think of a better PR blast!”

“We had a feeling you would be okay with it,” Aoko said, smiling to the other agent. “But we wanted to clear it with you before we made any announcements.”

“We can still write the manuscript too,” Shinichi said. “And then just pare down to dialogue from there.”

“I wouldn’t advise it,” Akai said, face a stern mask. It was almost as good as Kaito’s Poker Face when he got down to it. “It will only end in disaster if we do it that way.”

“Oh?” Kaito cocked his head to the side. “Why do you say that?”

“From experience, I know that it may _seem_ easy to strip out the dialogue of a manuscript and call it a screen play, but you lose a lot of information that way.” Akai crossed his arms and let his eyes fall closed. “When you write, especially for you, Kuroba-kun, you end up putting a lot of introspection in for the characters. Things like thoughts and feelings that won’t translate over well to a cinematic format. First person point of view won’t really work in a movie, not without narrating half the run time.”

“I… hadn’t thought of that.” Kaito frowned, mind already running to start making adjustments to style. It was true that a lot of KID’s inner thoughts wouldn’t translate well and, with his Poker Face, KID wouldn’t be likely to say a lot of things out loud. Not like a movie would require.

“Not only that, but you also end up describing scenes a certain way that, when given to a director, will never turn out the same.” Akai looked up to Shinichi here. “I know that you have a lot of action scenes that require precise detailing of character placement and movement. With a screen play, you won’t have the same ability to move the characters as you wish. The _director_ is the one to call the shots and make the final decisions.”

Shinichi pursed his lips and tilted his head, taking Akai’s words into consideration. It was true that Shinichi often ended up being very descriptive of fight scenes or scenes where the main character had to sneak past guards or criminals. It was a habit born from visualizing the scenario and recording what _he_ would have done at such a time.

But if the script were going to someone else—say Hattori— Shinichi knew there would be very different results.

With Sonoko? Even more so.

“That isn’t to say you can’t make some suggestions,” Akai noted with a tilt of his head. “Notes like when to fire a gun, or if someone is punching someone else, or if KID has to dive off the roof after a monologue. Things like that are acceptable, so long as you don’t put in too many or too specific of things.”

“So it’s not that we _don’t_ have control of what happens,” Shinichi commented. “Just not necessarily _how_ it happens.”

“To a certain extent, yes.” Akai gave a subtle nod. “And that’s not even starting on the length requirement on screen plays.”

“Shinichi and I usually get about 50k words for our co-authored projects—more when we have a third author in the mix.” Kaito pointed out. “What is the typical length for a screen play?”

“In screen plays, we don’t count words so much as pages,” Akai explained. “One page of dialogue equals to roughly two minutes of screen time. If you want a movie that is two hours long, or 120 minutes…”

“You would need at least 60 pages of _just_ dialogue.” Shinichi quickly calculated. “That means no time laying out scenes or setting up heists or giving internal monologue.”

“Or monologue at all.” Akai raised a brow in Shinichi’s direction. “While your deductions are legendary, having a human actor memorize five minutes worth of lines without any action or break in-between will be difficult to say the least. For a child actor who will be playing Conan? It’ll be nigh impossible.”

Shinichi winced at that.

Catching the movement, Akai turned a stern gaze on him. “I am not saying that your method of writing leaves anything to be desired. On the contrary, I am quite a fan of your work, particularly the Totoro series. However, if we are to think realistically, a monologue of deductions just won’t work.”

Kaito snorted. “Not unless Shinichi does that part himself.”

“Right,” Shinichi rolled his eyes “Because I, a twenty-five-year-old, can play a six-year-old.”

“Well, you’re only off by about twenty years.” Kaito snickered.

“And _you_ are only off by ten.” Shinichi stuck out his tongue. “Something tells me that won’t go over well with the fandom.”

“They don’t have to know!” Kaito exclaimed. “Older actors play younger roles all the time! It’s all movie magic!”

“Speaking of magic.” Akai cut into their back and forth banter. “The ordinary actor won’t be able to do a multitude of KID’s tricks on their own, not without years of experience. And many of the stunts he does in your books would be dangerous to even the most skilled of stunt doubles. So you will have to pull back on a lot of those.”

“Mmm… unless the actor is me.” Kaito pointed to himself with a grin. “All the tricks that KID can do? Are based on my own capabilities. I’ve been learning magic since I was five. I wouldn’t even need editing for most of them.”

“You are planning to cast yourself as KID?” Jodie’s eyebrows rose as she reminded everyone she was there.

“It’s how Sonoko got us on this whole movie bandwagon,” Aoko explained with a dark look in her eyes. Shinichi felt sorry for whenever she tracked down Sonoko. The heiress was obviously in for a world of pain. “Kaito likes to try new things any chance he gets.”

“All the better to get experience to write about!” Kaito said gleefully. “And when I get the chance to work on a set as a starring role? How could I turn that down?!”

“Still, I would caution against too many dare-devil stunts,” Akai said, brow knitted together. “ _Especially_ if you are going to be the one to do them.”

“Don’t worry.” Kaito waved him off. “I’ll be fine-!”

“No,” Aoko said flatly.

Kaito blinked and turned to her. “But Aoko—!”

“No,” Shinichi agreed, just as flatly.

Kaito looked between the two of them, adorable outrage on his face. When it became obvious that neither of his loved ones would allow him to put himself in mortal danger, he flopped back against the couch with a huff. “No one lets me have any fun!”

“Do we need a repeat of the Horse Incident?” Aoko asked.

Kaito grimaced.

“Or the Boat Incident?” Shinichi reminded.

“Hey, I _saved_ you that time!”

“That’s not the point.”

“I think it’s a _highly reasonable point—!_ ”

As the two devolved into a petty argument, Aoko turned to Jodie. “Then if we are both in agreement, we can get these three started on the screen play.”

“All for it here.” Jodie accepted the contract from Aoko to read over. “Are we still aiming for the same deadline?”

“I believe so, if you have no objections.” Aoko frowned. “I have never proof-read a screen play before, so I may need some assistance there, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all!” Jodie grinned broadly.

“How will we be corresponding?” Akai asked, focusing his question on Aoko instead of the two bickering authors. “I haven’t ever co-authored anything, but meeting up every time we want to make progress sounds like a hassle.”

“Oh, Kaito and Shinichi will probably just share a Google Doc with you,” Aoko said. Her use of their names caught the attention of the other authors.

“Google Doc?” Akai frowned in confusion. “What is that?”

At the question, Kaito beamed and Shinichi grimaced.

“Not a word, Kaito,” Shinichi grumbled. “Not a word.”

Kaito laughed.

* * * * *

After explaining the joys of media sharing and cloud backups, Shinichi and Kaito found themselves sharing the same couch as they took an afternoon to get Akai acquainted with their preferred method of co-authoring. They each took up one end, feet entangled between them as they balanced their laptops on their stomachs.

“You ready for this?” Shinichi asked.

“More than ready!” Kaito grinned as he clicked away.

Shinichi looked up, flat gaze on Kaito. “Really?”

Kaito just beamed.

Shinichi looked up from Akai’s heartfelt explanation. He shared a look with Kaito. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

By the excitement in his eyes, Shinichi already knew his answer.

“We are gonna get so meta up in this joint!” Kaito cheered.

Shinichi frowned. “Haven’t we already? Conan has my name and KID has yours.”

“That’s just treating them like they were alternate universe us,” Kaito said, eyes intent on the screen. “This time, we’re going all in.”

Shinichi couldn’t help the tug at his lips as Kaito eagerly typed into their chat.

“How do you think Akai will feel about acting in the movie?” Kaito wondered aloud.

Shinichi’s brow rose of its own accord. “Only one way to find out.”

* * * * *

Akai did not want to act in the movie and no amount of wheedling on Kaito’s part would change the man’s mind.

The plot twist, however, he was all for. He even made plans to change future _Scent of Bourbon_ books to follow the new outline.

“I like the idea of the captain not being the one who had saved Officer Zero,” Akai said after Shinichi and Kaito had gone over the changes they wanted to make. “Instead, having it be Scotch from the previous series… it’s a nicer tie in. It also makes the universe a little darker, that even a ‘perfect image’ can have tragic ends. It’ll take a few tweaks in my series, but I feel like it gives Officer Zero a better motivation.”

So with the plot twist in hand, the trio worked steadily away at the screen play. Shinichi managed to juggle his detective work with his writing as Kaito took over a bulk of their parts. After writing together for nearly half a year, Kaito had an idea of Shinichi’s writing style and how Conan would react to things.

Soon enough, they had a screen play ready for editing.

“So KID and Conan end up jumping into the world of _Scent of Bourbon_ , going after the Purple Heart—an Amethyst broach said to grant it’s users immortality when worn and death when taken off,” Aoko read off the summary she had sketched after her initial read. “Officer Zero, a new-comer to KID’s heists and an agent of the JPD, wants to stop him, obviously, but when they come to a face off, the addition of snipers throws him off.”

“He gets word of a shadow organization from KID, which he thinks has ties to the criminal syndicate that killed off his hero, Hiromitsu Morofushi —code name: Scotch. Though Scotch was credited for taking down a large portion of the syndicate before his untimely demise, the leader of the crime ring had never been found and, presumably, managed to escape police efforts,” Jodie finished with her own notes. “So Zero decides to team up with KID and Conan in another fake heist in order to lure out these snipers and find out just who they are working for.”

“And by the end of it, Zero has leads, KID has the Purple Heart and Conan gets to show his adorable face on the big screen,” Kaito said with a cheery grin.

“Does Conan actually have a purpose here?” Shinichi wondered aloud.

“Other than being the go between of an internationally wanted klepto and a hardworking PSB agent?” Akai gave him a side-eyed look. “Who just might kill each other otherwise?”

“… Fair point.” Shinichi nodded. “Why is Zero listening to a child again?”

“Because he saw him relaying commands to KID based on where he saw heat signatures in buildings that should have none.”

“Oh yeah… And the snipers are from…?”

“I’ve been adding them into every cross-over you and I have had so far.” Kaito noted as he regarded the script with a crooked stare. “I’m thinking of there being an organization that spans dimensions, all searching for the same stone: Pandora.”

“And there are just as many thieves and other characters in those dimensions that gives KID info on potential leads. Which is why Conan and KID were going into Zero’s universe in the first place.” Shinichi nodded. “I remember that now. Do we have plans to explain that?”

“Two books from now,” Kaito muttered. “I have a couple things I need to lay out before that big reveal.”

“So for now, snipers?”

“For now: snipers.”

“Well, I think it’s a great start!” Jodie clapped her hands happily. “There are a few places that need editing and a few plot holes that need to be addressed, but for the most part, I think we’ve got a winner here!”

“And in about half the time we were thinking too,” Aoko noted.

“Well, if you think about it, a screen play uses about a quarter of the number of words a novel does.” Kaito pointed out. “And it’s only half the amount of pages we normally do. So it all evens out.”

“Very true.” Aoko hummed. “Well, Jodie and I will let you guys handle the edits on our copies and I’ll forward a copy to Sonoko so she can start looking for actors.”

“And…?” Kaito asked pointedly.

Aoko let out a sigh. “I’ll let her know you called ‘dibs’ on KID.”

“Yesss,” Kaito hissed, gleefully bouncing in his seat.

“She may have ideas of her own as to any changes she would like made to the script,” Aoko prefaced. “Mainly due to budget constraints and safety protocols. I’ll make sure to forward anything she says onto you three.”

“Awesome!” Jodie exclaimed. “Meeting adjourned!”

* * * * *

A few changes did need to be made due to budget constraints and a small thing called the ‘laws of physics’, but for the most part, Sonoko loved the script. A casting call went out, bringing hundreds of actors clamoring to try-out for the lead roles in the first _Detective and Thief_ movie.

Once leaked, the news of a movie spread like wildfire.

“Can you believe it? A _Detective and Thief_ movie! Kaitou KID! On the big screen!”

“And Edogawa Conan too! Don’t forget him!”

“How could I? He’s _Meitantei!_ ”

“Does anyone know who they’re doing the cross-over script with?”

“I think it’s Akai Shuichi.”

“The guy who wrote _Burn of Scotch_? Kind of dark for a KID film, don’t you think?”

“I heard his new series is a lot lighter, but… kind of flat?”

“Maybe that’s why they decided to make a movie. To give it a little more flair.”

“You think? I would have thought it was because Kuroba Kaito wanted to play KID in the film.”

“Wait, what? Kuroba’s playing KID? _On the big screen_?!”

“Well, could you think of anyone else who would do a better job?”

“… Touché.”

* * * * *

Once the cast had been found, locations scouted, and props obtained, it came down to final wardrobe and shooting of the scenes.

Shinichi found himself wandering the set, having been allowed on as ‘morale support’ for Kaito. They were still going through some prep and mic checks when he found his lover anxiously playing with a deck of cards on the sidelines, dressed in his finest white.

“Wow, I never would have pictured you as a ball of nerves at something like this,” Shinichi said as he came up beside Kaito. The other startled, dropping three of his cards, but managing to save the others from an impromptu game of 52-card-pick-up.

“I’m not nervous,” Kaito said. His expression was straight and serious in his Poker Face, but his hands gave it all away. His fingers were a little too slow, a little two clumsy as he performed the same trick over and over again, making cards appear and disappear at will from the confines of his sleeves. “I’m just… cautious. This is the first time I’ll be performing in front of such a large crowd.”

“Don’t you perform every time we go to a Con?” Shinichi asked.

“That’s different!” Kaito huffed. “There, they _expect_ me to be a little weird. It’s my whole motif. Here…”

“They are expecting you to act like KID,” Shinichi finished kindly. “And no one knows KID better than you.”

Kaito’s face melted a bit at that, eyes going a little starry before a rude voice interrupted them. _“Ew. You’re gross.”_

Shinichi blinked and looked down to find the owner of the voice. The owner was a boy who couldn’t have been more than six years old, dark hair fashioned back in a smart hair style with glasses perched on his nose to frame blue eyes. Eyes that were staring at Kaito and Shinichi in disgust.

“Hey!” Shinichi frowned.

“Are you going to kiss?” the kid asked. “That’s gross. You’re gross. Adults are gross.”

Shinichi could feel his blood pressure rising. “And just who are you?”

“The _star_ of the show,” the boy said haughtily.

At that Shinichi blinked, re-evaluated the boy’s get up, then turned to Kaito, face horrified. “Oh no. Please don’t tell me…”

“Shin-chan, meet Co-chan!” Kaito crouched immediately to give the boy a big hug. The child looked annoyed, but allowed the older man to squishy his cheeks without too much complaint. “He’s my adorable little co-star!”

“Co-chan?” Shinichi asked weakly.

“My name is Edogawa Conan,” the boy said, a little too aggressively. “My mom was a fan of your work. When she married a guy with the last name Edogawa, she said it was too perfect.”

“But… _Elementary Conan_ has only been out for two years!” Shinichi protested.

“The character first showed up in _Detective Queen Shizuka_ ,” Kaito said, eyebrows lifting from behind his monocle. "I thought you had decided to re-use a character. Did you not notice?”

Shinichi stood, gaping for several minutes before realizing that his habit of taking names of famous detectives and mashing them together for background characters _might_ have stabbed him in the foot more than once. With the same books within view in his study, it was only statistics that he’d end up with the same name at least once.

That it just so happened to be a name that turned into a main character? Well… it is what it is.

“I am so sorry.” Shinichi dragged a palm down his face. “I didn’t know this would happen.”

“It’s fine.” The kid gave a grumpy shrug. “Besides, Mom says your name is in there too, so now we’re the same.”

Shinichi… wanted to point out that his character was named after him, not the other way around, but he didn’t think that would earn him any points.

“Hey! Me too! We’re all name buddies!” Kaito exclaimed, pointing at himself. “Hey, Shinichi, get a pick of me and my co-star! I want to tweet it out to social media!”

“Doesn’t that vi… viol… violet the contract?” Conan asked with a narrow-eyed stare.

“I’m known for doing this with my fans. Sonoko already wrote it into my contract,” Kaito explained. “And if the lawyers come after you, just send them my way. I’ll take care of them.”

And by take care of them, he meant give them the ring-around until they got too tired to keep going. Shinichi gave a snort.

“Picture!” Kaito prompted.

“I heard you, I heard you!” Shinichi rolled his eyes and took out his phone. It didn’t matter which device the picture ended up on, or which social media page. If Shinichi posted it, he knew Kaito would reblog it, same if it were the other way around. It just goes to show how close their interactions had gotten over the last half year. “Say cheese!”

Kaito threw up a piece sign as Conan just stared grumpily at the camera.

Shinichi took the picture. “What, no smile, Conan-kun?”

“I’m method acting,” Conan replied in a way that sounded like he was parroting something someone told him.

“Method acting?” Shinichi’s brow rose. “For Conan? Why?”

“Because Conan isn’t a kid.” Conan paused to frown. “Even if he looks like one. He’s an adult.”

“Okay?” Shinichi looked to Kaito, who was struggling to keep from laughing. “And… adults don’t smile?”

“Adults don’t have fun,” Conan said with all the seriousness of a sage. “They have to work all the time and eat their veggie-tables and they have to wear stupid clothes.”

“And they don’t smile,” Shinichi added.

“And they don’t smile.” Conan nodded.

To his side, Kaito snorted into his hand, shoulders shaking in silent laughter.

“I see.” Shinichi nodded. “Well… keep up the good work.”

“Thank you.” Conan gave a formal little bow before skipping off to find his temporary guardian.

“… You can laugh now.” Shinichi told his lover.

Kaito broke down entirely, doubled over and losing his hand as he clutched at his stomach. “That boy—! That boy—! He _kills_ me!”

“He has a… unique notion of what passes for ‘adults’,” Shinichi said, a small smile curling his lips. “I’m surprised you didn’t crack before now.”

“I couldn’t!” Kaito wheezed as he wiped at his eyes. “Could you imagine what that would do to him? An older actor laughing at him because of his method acting? It would break the poor boy’s heart.”

“I think he’s tougher than you give him credit for,” Shinichi said as he navigated his phone to his social media page. He selected the picture they had taken and added a caption and tags before showing it to Kaito. “What do you think?”

“Perfect!” Kaito grinned. “I’ll reblog it later. I’m not allowed to have my phone on set.”

“Because _so_ many people would be calling you.” Shinichi gave him a dubious look. “You have, what? Two people that you talk to daily? _Total_? And one of them is right in front of you.”

“I have _four_ thank you.” Kaito sniffed. “But Akako is in a different time zone, Hakuba is at work and Aoko should be on her way here to act as my manager as well. She had to travel to headquarters to put out a few fires, but she should be back soon.”

“Then you’ll be back to having half of your connections here to watch you make a fool of yourself on camera.” Shinichi snarked. When Kaito didn’t immediately reply, Shinichi caught the nervous twitch of the other’s fingers as he flipped a coin between them. “Kaito…”

“Do you really think I’ll do bad?” Kaito frowned. “I know that I’m not an official actor. I didn’t go through years of training like anyone else. I don’t know the first thing about filming—!”

“Niether does Sonoko. You’ve got all the gymnastics training and years of Poker Face and Cons to back you up. She has _maybe_ two weeks with an experience director to back her up,” Shinichi said. “You’ll do fine. And you’re not so much _playing_ KID as you _are_ KID. You’ll probably be the best actor on set.”

Kaito shyly looked over, a small twist to his lips.

“I only said that you’d make a fool of yourself because I can _definitely_ see you getting strapped into that flight harness and then pulling shenanigans because you _can_.” Shinichi nodded over to where two crew members were assembling a wire harness and checking the lines for abrasions.

“… You sound like an old man.” Kaito snickered. “Shenanigans.”

Shinichi smiled. “Well, this old man will be waiting here on the sidelines for you, after you’ve gone and wowed everyone with your talent. So go on, whipper-snapper.”

“Please never say that again,” Kaito pleaded, but he was smiling again, so Shinichi figured it was a job well-done.

Not long after, Kaito did get called away, but his place at Shinichi’s side was quickly taken by Akai and Jodie, who had come to view the set.

“I see Kuroba is falling into his role well,” Akai noted gruffly. “Have you met the boy in Conan’s role?”

“Yeah. Serious little guy.” Shinichi smiled when he caught sight of the small child. “I’m pretty sure Sonoko hired him for name alone.”

“Oh?”

“His mom named him Edogawa Conan,” Shinichi explained.

“Hmm… is this what they call Nominative Determinism?” Akai wondered.

“I think that only applies to where names can actually be a role,” Shinichi replied. “Given that Edogawa Conan wasn’t a character until two years ago and this boy is clearly older, I think it’s something else at play.”

“Hmm… no matter.” Akai gave a shrug. “Have you met the person they cast as Officer Zero yet?”

“No, I haven’t.” Shinichi turned his gaze from the set to focus on Akai. “Have you?”

Akai shook his head. “Jodie met him previously, but we haven’t been able to track him down today. We were just coming by the set to see if he was here…?”

“There!” Jodie suddenly elbowed Akai, heedless of the noise the man made in response. She pointed to the far side of the set where a dark-skinned, light-haired man was going through some choreography with the stage combat instructor. “There he is. Amuro Tooru, role of Officer Zero!”

From where they were standing, they could make out the slow movements of the instructor as he plotted out a standard scene for the actor. The actor, Amuro, gave a nod, then took a few steps back, ready to put the moves into practice. The series of movements that followed were so precise and dangerous looking, they would give Hattori a run for his money.

“I want one.”

Shinichi blinked, then looked over to Akai, eyebrows raising. Had the man really just…?

“Jodie.” Akai quietly called his agent’s attention.

“I heard you.”

“I want one.”

“No.”

“Jodie.”

“No.” Jodie shook her head and pointed at him. “Amuro is a trained professional. He is here to do his job. He is not here to be eye-candy for you or another notch on your belt. You will treat him with the utmost respect and _not_ seduce him, on _or_ off set.”

Was Shinichi hearing this right? Was he _seeing_ this right? Was Akai Shuichi, author of the darkest crime series in modern years, sulking at not being able to talk to a pretty boy?

Granted, Amuro was quite handsome with his unique features and his body control during fight scenes was impressive, but still. Akai Shuichi, pouting because he couldn’t talk to one actor.

Shinichi should have recorded this moment. Kaito would never believe him otherwise.

“Now, stay here while I go get us our passes. Security will have a stroke if we try to come around without them again.” Jodie pointed a finger at him and ordered. “Don’t move.”

Akai crossed his arms, but obeyed.

Confident that he would listen to her warning, Jodie skipped off to find Sonoko, who would direct her to the right person to talk to.

Akai stared at where Amuro was going through another set of choreography. Shinichi looked between the two before gathering himself.

“You know…” Shinichi found himself saying. “She said you couldn’t disturb his work.”

Akai’s gaze narrowed, but he didn’t take his eyes off Amuro.

“But you can’t really disturb his work, if you _are_ his work.” Shinichi pointed out.

Akai’s eyes widened before he turned a sly look towards Shinichi. “I’m listening.”

 _Kaito better thank me for making his meta-genre dreams come true._ Shinichi thought as he laid out his plan.

* * * * *

“Kaito, you’ll never guess what happened today,” Shinichi said as he waltzed into his boyfriend’s dressing room after the shoot.

With the last scene of the day done, the actors had been allowed to retire to their dressing rooms. Shinichi had been caught by a few workers, asking for autographs, so he hadn’t been able to walk with Kaito, but he already knew where his dressing room was. It was easy to catch up and the fact that the room wasn’t locked meant that Kaito was still inside.

His deduction was proved right when he found the other sitting on a fold-out chair, shirt off but white pants still donned.

“Okay, so get this,” Shinichi started excitedly. “Akai saw this one actor and—!”

“Shinichi?” Kaito cut in nervously. That was unlike him, both the interrupting and the nervous waver in his voice. It immediately caused Shinichi to stiffen.

“What is it?” Shinichi asked in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Kaito showed him his phone, with the same tweet Shinichi had sent out earlier that day. “I think we’ve got a problem.”

* * * * *

“You want to change the script?” Sonoko demanded. “Why?!”

“Because of this.” Shinichi showed her his phone. The messages on the tweet had only gotten worse in the four hours it took to track Sonoko down.

(Why she couldn’t just go home like a normal person was beyond Shinichi. No, she had to go to a branch hotel to change clothes, then to a fancy restaurant where they serve a five-course dinner, then to a club and _then_ home—!)

“Oh.” Sonoko’s face darkened in concern. “That… is not good.”

“No,” Shinichi agreed. “It’s not.”

“And people really want to…?”

“Yes.” Kaito grimaced. “They do.”

Sonoko made a face and drew back. “Then what to you propose we do? I’ve already signed the contract with Conan’s guardian, so we can’t kick him out or hand over his role to someone else.”

“Plus this role can make or break the kid’s career.” Kaito winced. “To just rip it out from under him…”

“What if we don’t?” Shinichi rubbed a thumb under his chin in thought.

Kaito started. “Shinichi! We can’t just—!”

“No, wait, let him talk.” Sonoko held up a hand. “That’s his thinking face.”

Kaito blinked and surveyed Shinichi again, but Sonoko was right. That was Shinichi’s Detective Face. Kaito had never seen it outside of case work or mystery writing. It was strange to see it now.

“The contract states that Conan will play _Conan_ in the movie to be released next year.” Shinichi laid out. “Based on the comments we’ve seen, people are going to ship him and KID in… unpleasant situations that could have government authorities investigating us or shutting down the entire production—unless we can control them.”

“Shinichi,” Kaito deflated. “You know how shippers get. There’s no way to control them! That one Killer KID fan we had a few months back is a prime example!”

“We aren’t going to explicitly tell them not to,” Shinichi said, eyes glimmering with a mischievous flame. “We’re just going to give them a different pairing to like more.”

“… Shinichi, I don’t think I could on-screen kiss Amuro.” Kaito made a face. “I mean, not that he isn’t handsome, but my type is blue-eyed, dark-haired and slightly airheaded.”

“I’m not saying to use Amuro. I’m saying to use me.” Shinichi pointed at himself. “The Purple Heart is known to give immortality when worn and kill when it’s taken off right?”

“Yeah, we both wrote that together.” Kaito nodded.

“But we never really explained _why_ , right?” At a denial, Shinichi continued. “Amethysts were often thought to have healing and protective properties, though nothing has been proven by science. It’s even thought to absorb negative energy from a wearer and purge it from their system. If we add those properties to a magic mindset…”

“We could ‘purge’ _Conan_ of the toxin that makes him small!” Kaito finished excitedly. “Which means we’ll see _Conan_ change to _Shinichi_! And Conan-kun can still do his part in the movie, but we present an older, _legally-aged_ individual for people to fantasize about!”

“This is so crazy…” Sonoko muttered, with a dark look in her eyes. Before Shinichi or Kaito could be sadden by the dismissal, she looked up, teeth bared in a savage smile. “… that it just might work!”

Shinichi and Kaito beamed and high-fived each other. Yes! Problem solved!

“… Wait, what do you mean by airheaded?”

“Uh, nothing!”

* * * * *

They spent the next two days re-writing portions to work as Shinichi’s script. They were able to keep a majority of the screen play, only adding two scenes: one where Conan wears the stone and turns into Shinichi and one where the stone is removed and he, begrudgingly, returns to being Conan. It cut down on a lot of the kid’s screen time, but after a small chat, the kid understood.

“You’re just trying to steal my screen time! That’s not _fair_!”

“Conan, please listen. I don’t want to be on that screen any more than you want to.”

“Then why _are_ you?”

“Because… because the director wants KID to make kissy-faces at someone.”

“… What?”

“Yeah, because girls like romance scenes, you know? And the director is a girl.”

“So she… wants KID to make kissy-faces at people.”

“Exactly.”

“Ew. Girls are gross.”

“You can say that again.”

“Wait, why does he have to kiss you then? Shouldn’t he kiss a girl?”

“Normally, that would be the case. But because I’m dating Kaito, I don’t want him to make kissy-faces at anyone else. So the director wants me to play the character that makes kissy-faces at him.”

“… What’s ‘dating’?”

“It’s… um… being boyfriends?”

“Boy-friends? Is that, like… best friends?”

“Something like that!” Kaito laughed as he hooked an arm around Shinichi’s neck and dragged him in close. “Except, of course, you make kissy-faces at each other. Best friends don’t do that.”

“And you… like it?” Conan made a face at Kaito’s enthusiastic response. “Adults are weird.”

And that was that.

Conan’s guardian was a little miffed at the change in script, but once Sonoko confronted them about the viral nature of Shinichi’s tweet and the… less than legal responses, they were quick to change their tune.

So two days later, everything was fixed! The script was re-written, Shinichi’s character added, the necessary wardrobe changes completed… and if another character just happened to be added by a certain third author’s request, well, it largely went unnoticed.

“Hi there. Amuro, right?” Akai asked as he slid into the space next to the blonde-haired actor. “Akai Shuichi.”

“Akai?” Amuro blinked, then smiled. “The guy who wrong _Burn of Scotch,_ right? I loved that series!”

“Indeed I did.” Akai’s stoic mask broke with a small smile as he held out his hand. “Big fan?”

“The biggest!” Amuro clasped his hand with the author’s. “I just have one thing to say to you, though.”

“Oh?” Akai cocked his head to the side.

“Yeah.” Amuro dropped the author’s hand in order to shove his finger into his face. “Fuck. You.”

Akai blinked, completely caught off-guard.

“Do you know how hard it was to read that series?! How dark and depressing it was? I was rooting for Scotch! After all the heartbreak and headaches he was going through, he deserved a happy ending! And I thought he was going to get it with that last book!: Amuro’s rant grew louder and louder as he got more passionate. “I thought he was going to take the organization down, get the credit he _deserved_ and live a happy life! But _nooo_! You had him hand off the data disk to Rye — _who we don’t even know is a good guy!_ — and then you _kill him off_!”

Akai looked stricken as the blonde jabbed a finger into his chest.

“I’ll have you know, I _cried_ over that book!” Amuro hissed. “Scotch got me through so many hardships, so many ups and downs! I made it to where I am today because I had the knowledge that, if he could make it, so could I! And then you _killed him_! So _yeah_! _Fuck you!_ ”

Silence rang afterwards as Amuro stalked off to his dressing room. Shinichi winced when he saw Akai just… staring after him.

“So… that didn’t go over well.” Shinichi grimaced at his own words. “Want me to take out your character?”

“He’s _perfect_ ,” Akai whispered to himself, a little breathless. Shinichi gave the man a side-eye and… yeah, no, he wasn’t going to touch that with a ten-foot pole.

* * * * *

With the script through it’s final changes and the rest of the cast on the same page, filming got underway. Kaito fell into the rhythm easily, all his previous worries vanished. Knowing that he would get to share the stage with Shinichi was part of the reason behind that, but the other was…

Well, Kurobas were _made_ for the spotlight. Quite literally in KID’s case.

So it was no surprise that he took to acting like a duck to water. His expressions were on point, his footwork precise, his fingers tricky-quick. He felt like it should be harder to fit in, but it wasn’t.

Honestly, the most surprising thing about filming, turned out to be Shinichi.

After the first scene of Shinichi ‘painfully’ turning back to Conan, Kaito thought his boyfriend had actually been _dying_ , his screams were so realistic. It was one of the few shots they’d had to re-do for a mistake on Kaito’s part. But who could blame him?

If his partner sounded seconds away from death’s door, Kaito had better things to worry about than his lines!

Of course, after he had fallen to his knees and frantically started checking Shinichi over, the other had stopped his dramatic flailing to give Kaito a questioning look. “Uh, Kaito? I think you’re supposed to stay standing for this part.”

“Wha—? I—? But…” Kaito paused in the middle of taking Shinichi’s pulse. “… You’re fine?”

Shinichi gave him a deadpanned look. “You remember that my mom is an award-winning actress, right? And that she tried to get me to follow in her footsteps multiple times? She’s shown me how to act realistically.”

“Oh… right.” Kaito felt his face heat with chagrin. “Right. Of course.”

Shinichi’s dead-eyed stare melted into a lovely smile as he cupped Kaito’s cheek. “But I’m glad you care so much. Even if it’s fake.”

“Like I could care less,” Kaito grumbled as he leaned towards Shinichi.

 _“Ew! Kissy-face!_ ” Conan whined from the side-lines where he was waiting to be switched out with Shinichi on stage. The high-pitched whine broke the two from their moment, along with Sonoko’s chortling.

“Yeah guys!” She laughed and loomed over them. “Let’s leave the kissy-faces until _after_ we’ve shot all of Conan’s scenes, yeah?”

It wasn’t like it would matter. The movie didn’t have any ‘kissy-face´ scenes in it anyway. That had just been a lie for Conan’s sake.

Still, Kaito found himself scrambling to his feet and fixing his clothes as quickly as possible. “Right! Yes! Okay! Ready to go!”

“ _Shinichi turning back into Conan, Act5, take 2!”_

* * * * *

Despite his poor first impression, Akai did manage to get on Amuro’s good side. It happened in the middle of the one scene they shared. Akai was playing as some nameless person that Amuro had chased down as a potential lead in the _Scotch_ case. Officer Zero was supposed to stay calm and collected as he used subtle interrogation tactics to question the man.

They were following the script, right up to the line where Officer Zero was supposed to ask Akai if he knew Scotch. But instead of a question, it came out as a statement.

“You knew him,” Amuro said, not a hint of leeway in his voice.

Akai paused in surprise, mentally trying to remember his lines and figure out where they were. He wasn’t the best actor, too stiff in front of the camera, too worried about his lines. This was why he had declined another undercover case with the FBI. Why he always preferred to spy from a distance.

When he was a sniper, he didn’t have to worry about forgetting his lines.

Or, in this case, not having the right ones to start with.

“I didn’t…” he tried to get back on track with his character’s denial, but Amuro wouldn’t let him.

“You _did_.” Amuro hissed. “You were close. I _know_ you were. You were there that day. You were in that alley as he lay dying, bleeding out from a wound _you_ gave him!”

Akai chose to stay silent, mind running quickly to try and improv. He didn’t do lines, but adapting? _That_ he could do.

“You could have helped him! You could have saved him!” Amuro shouted. He drew back a fist. “Instead you _murdered him_!”

Even though it wasn’t choreographed, Akai caught the fist all the same. He had years of combat training behind him. It would be foolish of him to let the strike hit.

Amuro’s eyes went wide as he realized what he had just done. The rest of the crew stared, just as wide-eyed. Before Sonoko could call for the action to cut, Akai replied. “You’re right. I did know him.”

Amuro startled, catching the obvious change in script.

“It’s _because_ I know him… that I know he wouldn’t have wanted me to save him,” Akai said. It had taken a lot of therapy to get him to this point. For years he had blamed himself, but not anymore. Not anymore. “I had a choice to make then. Get the data out, to people who can use it, who could save _thousands_ caught under the thumb of the organization... Or get caught trying to save a _traitor_ and die alongside him.”

Akai forced Amuro’s fist back and continued until he pushed the other actor against the alley they were filming in.

“Tell me, if his and my situations were reversed…” Akai narrowed his eyes. “What do you think _he_ would have done?”

Amuro’s lips trembled as he stared up, wide-eyed. Akai held their position for just two more seconds before he let go of the other’s fist and pushed away. Back turned to the devastation he left behind, Akai walked off set, just like he was supposed to do at the end of the scene.

“And _cut_!” Sonoko called loudly. She hopped up out of her chair, eyes sparkling with glee. “That was _amazing_ improv guys! Where did that even come from?!”

Akai gave a shrug. “I’m good at adapting.”

They both looked to Amuro. The blonde stuttered before he turned away. “I need some water.”

Akai watched the other go, not sure if he should follow. The blonde had made it obvious what he thought of the author, but at the same time, Akai _did_ just pseudo-threaten him on a stage full of people. Maybe he should go apologize?

“Ah! No!” Jodie caught his elbow before he could act on his thoughts. “You are going to give him time to breathe! And _you_ are going to take time to breathe! Now sit here and eat this!”

She shoved him into one of the numerous fold-out chairs and dropped an orange into his hands. Akai scowled at her.

“Oh don’t give me that look.” She crossed her arms and stared down at him. “You and I _both_ know that wasn’t the scene that was planned. And those words you were saying, they _aren’t_ based on any fictional scenario.”

Akai ducked his gaze to the orange in his hands and slowly started to tear at the skin. If nothing else, it kept his fingers busy and his mind occupied. After he had managed to extract two wedges with minimal mess, Jodie let out a sigh and dropped into the seat next to him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked.

“Not really,” he admitted. “It’s just… a little fresh.”

“… He wouldn’t have left you dying in that alley,” she said quietly. “If your roles had been reversed.”

“And neither would I,” he said just as quietly. “Which is why he had to kill himself first.”

The orange was sour on his tongue, making his face pucker and his eyes burn at the acid.

“At least it was fast.”

Since that was the only scene Akai had been needed for, Jodie was quick to usher him towards the door after he had had adequate time to calm down. As he was shrugging on his black trench coat, he heard the call of his name. He turned to see Amuro running after him.

“Akai-san!” Amuro said as he came to a stop before the two, cheeks red and hair wind-swept. His eyes darted to Akai’s face, then down to the floor. “I just… wanted to apologize. I went completely off-script, let my emotions get the better of me and—!”

“He was my friend.” Akai cut off the other’s apology. At Amuro’s confused look, Akai clarified. “Hiromitsu Morofushi, ‘Scotch’. He and I did undercover work back when I was in the service. We were inseparable in the field… until we weren’t.”

Amuro’s eyes widened at the realization.

“That’s why I couldn’t give that series a happy ending.” Akai let his gaze trail from Amuro to the set and various crew members milling about. “It felt like… like I was lying. To myself, to others. I wanted, so much, for him to have a happy ending… but life doesn’t run on wishes, and sometimes, good men die young. Sometimes, the ones who have it worse, are the ones that need to keep on living.”

“…I wanted to join the police force,” Amuro admitted out of the blue. Akai’s gaze jerked to him. “All through middle school and high school, I wanted to join the force. I would train daily and teach myself everything I thought I would need for the academy.”

His lips stretched in a self-deprecating smile. “Turns out, it doesn’t matter how much you train, when you’ve got a criminal record. My high school years… I did some things I’m not proud of. Fell in with the wrong kind of people. I didn’t know how deep I was until it was too late. I didn’t have a hand in much of it, counted as more of an accessory and made out with just community service, but I wasn’t a minor anymore. It went on my record. There’s a lot of things I can’t do now because of that.”

“… That sucks,” Akai said, oh-so-eloquently.

“That’s why I liked the _Burn of Scotch_ series so much. I understood that world _and_ the one I had wanted to be a part of. I thought, if Scotch could do all those things and still be seen as a hero, why couldn’t I?” Amuro’s gaze dropped to his toes. “Guess that’s a stupid way to think, huh?”

“I think…” Akai said slowly, not entirely sure of the words he wanted to say until they were _there_. “I think… he would have liked you. Scotch always had a thing for the underdogs.”

Amuro looked up at that, a fragile, _hopeful_ smile on his face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

That smile bloomed into a full-on grin. Akai had never seen something so beautiful.

“So, I have a couple more scenes to shoot today, but I wanted to know…” Amuro hesitated, cheeks reddening as he scratched at his chin. “If you… wanted to catch dinner?”

“I would—“

“He can’t,” Jodie interrupted flatly.

“Huh?” Amuro blinked at her as Akai scowled at his agent.

“Akai is not allowed to seduce any of the cast before the end of the movie,” Jodie said, matter-of-factly. “We don’t want to be the cause of any more broken contracts.”

Honestly, it was _one time_. Two if she counted Zimbabwe. Why couldn’t she just let it go?

“After filming is done then.” Amuro gave a little shrug, as if the timing didn’t really matter to him. He shot Akai a wink. “It’s a promise! I’ll hold you to it!”

Then he ran off to rejoin the set.

… Damn, that man was cute.

“You know, he’s doing really well as Officer Zero in the current production,” Jodie commented slyly. “We don’t have any plans to make Officer Zero into a movie franchise, but if we do, I’m sure he wouldn’t be against signing on for a films.”

Akai gave her the dirtiest look he could manage. “…Please don’t make me wait that long.”

She guffawled.

* * * * *

It was another six months of filming and two months of editing before they had a finished product. During that time, Akai came out with a new _Scent of Bourbon_ book that had people talking about the drastic change in direction. His sales were starting to climb, even before the official announcement of the cross-over movie.

Once the cross-over was announced and the trailer released, Shinichi and Kaito made a post of their own with some leaked footage of the final product.

The scene was taken from early in the movie and featured KID handing off the Purple Heart to Conan. Some fancy editing on their part sent the footage time-skipping forward to when Conan was ‘purged’ of the toxin and his subsequent cry of pain. Some choice camera angles, a shot of KID’s face, a thin mist covering the area and…

Shinichi Kudo appeared, in the flesh… literally.

To say fans went crazy would be an understatement.

They tried to be subtle with other hints and leaked footage, but soon enough, fans were snatching up the new shipping and dropping KIDCon like yesterday’s news. There were a few stubborn shippers who held on, but Shinichi knew it wasn’t a fool-proof plan. There would always be someone who would ‘die on this hill’, despite the precarious legality of said land formation.

Shinichi and Kaito had done the best they could. Now, it was up to everyone else to make their choice.

* * * * *

The premier night arrived with KID and Shinichi walking the red carpet, Conan in KID’s arms and his guardian tagging along closely behind. They stopped for a few pictures, spoke with a few news casters chosen and once, memorably, ‘snuck’ a kiss behind Akai as Conan made a disgusted face at them. The picture caught them at exactly the right time, with Akai speaking to a reporter, completely oblivious to anything going on behind him.

And, well, with Amuro on his arm, he had reason to be distracted.

The opening box office soared to over one hundred million dollars. Not the best film of all time, but certainly not the worst. They made back their budget three-fold in the opening weekend, and watched that number climb in the following weeks. For the first movie of an unknown studio, they were an instant hit.

“Think we’ll win anything at the Grammy’s or Oscars?” Kaito asked as they got ready for the next TV interview.

“Honestly, with the other awards we have, does it really matter?” Shinichi made a face. “They just take up space in the study. I could fill that area with books!”

“Mm… I can always move them in with the birds,” Kaito suggested.

Shinichi gave him a deadpanned look. “You want to move our shiny, gold-encrusted trophies… into your bird cage.”

“It could use some decoration,” Kaito confessed.

Shinichi sighed. “Well, it’s better than the garden. At least the bird cage is protected from the elements and potential theft.”

“I knew you’d see it my way!” Kaito laughed and leaned on his boyfriend. Shinichi just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Soon enough, they were called onto the set with Okino Yoko as the host.

“Welcome, Kudou Shinichi and Kuroba Kaito! Or should I say Kudou and Kudou?” Yoko giggled.

Shinichi’s heart gave a startled _thump_ before he remembered that Kaito had ‘disguised’ himself as Shinichi today. They wore matching suits, had matching hairstyles and matching eye colors thanks to Kaito’s contact lenses. Just another one of his plans to keep his identity hidden from his questioning fans.

Honestly, Kaito was such a dork sometimes.

(Still, the sound of his last name in regards to Kaito… it made Shinichi’s blood thrum in his veins.)

“Now, we’ve all heard about your recent movie, featuring the _Detective and Thief_ series along with a guest appearance from the _Scent of Bourbon_ series by Akai Shuichi,” Yoko started out with a little background for the audience. “From what I understand, neither of you have ever sold film rights to one of your series so far. A lot of us are curious as to what brought on the change of heart?”

Shinichi and Kaito shared a look before turning to their hostess.

“Well, you see, Yoko,” Shinichi started. “I’ve got this _really annoying_ friend who decided she wanted to be a film director…”

**Author's Note:**

> And so ends the last Installment of Writer's AU! I have marked it Complete so those who only want to read completely series can enjoy. :) 
> 
> I may go back and add some more Coffee Breaks here or there and maybe, like, a year from now, I might get inspiration to write the Movie, but don't hold your breath. I have no idea what a cross-over with Akai and Agent Zero would look like and have too many projects to get side tracked otherwise. I'm not saying 'no', but I'm saying 'don't be disappointed if it doesn't happen'.
> 
> It was great experiencing this AU with all of you! :) Hope to see you around in my other fics!
> 
> ***
> 
> If you want to say 'Good Job!' or 'Update Soon!' or 'Longer please!', just leave a Kudo. (Or a Kaito... or maybe a Hattori or Hakuba. They are currently outnumbered. ;) )
> 
> If you have some critiques or questions, please leave a comment below. I'm always looking to improve my skills, so any little bit helps.
> 
> If you want to leave a comment, but don't know what to say or what I'm looking for in comments, I've put a short outline of what I usually leave on stories in my profile. To find it, click on my pseudonym and then on the Profile tab.


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